


The Education of Sasuke Uchiha

by Steino



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-03 08:09:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5283269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steino/pseuds/Steino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Never again will I allow them to extinguish the light, and never again will they hurt you. Trust in me, and I will show you the life those who really loved you would have wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Question

 

 

“Sasuke, my dear. I know it will hurt you to hear this, but your brother was caught in a dire accident. It was a fire in his cabin while he was asleep, and I’m afraid it took him a rather long time to wake – causing damage to his lungs the doctors say will take a while to repair naturally. He will not be capable of speaking for a time.”

 

There was a stretch of silence Itachi believed was meant as a mercy so he could take in the information properly. “How long?” he finally asked.

 

“A few months maybe. One more thing – your father has strictly forbidden visitors for the time until Sasuke is released by the doctors-“ Mikoto paused briefly when Itachi launched out of his chair, “-until your brother is properly healed. He will be under heavy sedation for the next few days, Itachi. There’s no use in visiting him in that state.”

 

Itachi slowly lowered again, watching his mother closely. He dropped his head glumly and sighed deeply. “How did it happen, do those fools know?”

 

“Not yet, dear. They say it was an equipment short-“

 “What would possess them to put compromised equipment in a student’s-“

 “The equipment they say shorted was one of Sasuke’s drawing contraptions; and if you continue to disrespect in this manner I will refer you to your father.”

 

Itachi allowed another sigh to quiver through his lips, and his mother came around the corner and dropped to her knees, taking her son’s face between her hands. “Oh, Itachi. Know that I love you always. What has happened to your brother can unfortunately not be blamed on the Academy but rather Sasuke himself. Don’t put upon yourself the devices of others; you already have so much responsibility before you. I am so proud of you, dear. Your father cares deeply about your future as the head of our clan, and he believes so deeply in you. I know that this will pass and Sasuke will end up just fine. So please continue on with hope in your heart.”

 

Itachi continued to listen his mother drone on in her own melodramatic fashion and suddenly it occurred to him that he knew exactly what had been done. He looked up at his mother and gave a weary smile. “Thank you, mom. I think I just need time to breath and process this before I work tomorrow.”

 

Mikoto smiled fondly and held her son’s hands for a moment more before letting go and moving back around the counter. “We’ll let you know the instant Sasuke is released. From there your father has assigned to Sasuke a time of rest. Obviously more intensive training is an order, so Sasuke will be interning for one of the subsidiaries. Very exciting.”

 

“I’ll talk about that with father. I have a select few Sasuke would highly benefit from working in for even a short time. Actually; and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe this change is for the best, ay?”

 

Mikoto smiled and chuckled. “I’m so happy you’re seeing this situation for what it is. Sasuke will absolutely benefit so much from this, indeed. His own passions can thrive where they were subdued before, thanks to your father’s change of heart. I think he realized how fragile Sasuke’s life really is and that it should be cherished more than maybe he had done before.”

 

Itachi nodded and went out the kitchen door a moment later, driving back to his office where he could phone in a few preliminary favors.

 

* * *

 

“Father, I know it’s not your most inclined of ideas, but I firmly believe Sasuke should be given to Haruno Pharmaceuticals or Kyabe Publishing for his internships.”

 

“Haruno? What are you playing at?” Fugaku looked up for a moment and then back down at his paper. The man still insisted on writing his notes on paper. He did so religiously after every weekly meeting, something Itachi suspected was an idiosyncrasy.

 

“Nothing. I believe the Haruno are an esteemed clan of militant people whose perspective is one Sasuke would immediately cling to; one of intense passion towards one’s work and pursuing new frontiers in different product markets.”

 

“And Kyabe.”

 

“Kyabe is full of extremely experienced people whose professionalism is-“

 

“Whose primary contributors are fetishists and egotistical clowns. Indeed, you’ve chosen your suggestions wisely. Sasuke will intern under Tsunade.”

 

“What drew you to her, merely out of curiosity?”

 

“She has a long history with a wide variety of leaders from whom she’s drawn a great body of experience. She will do finely to groom Sasuke into a leader of industry, wherever within Uchiha Corps he chooses to operate.”

 

“I’ll see to it Tsunade is watched closely to ensure Sasuke is not infected by any unusual trains of thought.” Itachi kept his face steeled with determination and thoughts of love for his brother, which seemed to sate Fugaku’s intense gaze.

 

“Good. See that you do. I must get back to work, son.”

 

Itachi bowed and exited the building straight away. If you had passed him as he walked through to the exit, you would have witnessed a man leaking pure mirth. You would have seen one of the most powerful men in the world possessed by a face-splitting grin and eyes burning as they seemed to see the future as clear as day.

 

* * *

 

“I’m fucking sick and tired of hearing that we’re not making enough money, so if that’s what you’re here for then kindly do shove it up your super-tight asshole.” Tsunade had been trying to avoid Itachi since she’d seen him entering the building but the man had cornered her into a lab where she was trying to look busy. She knew he could see right through her, but why give a damn in the first place? Why give a damn about being wrong when her boss’s boss’s boss was staring her down with the second-creepiest fucking grin she’d ever seen.

 

“Why would you think I give a damn about finances? I wouldn’t be here personally if we had a problem. I would’ve sent somebody you actually want the respect of instead to list your recent blunders.”

 

“What is it then?” Now, they were resolved to stare each other down.

 

“You’ll be receiving my brother as an intern very soon. Yours, specifically.” With that, the crowned prince of darkness was gone. Tsunade sat in shock for only a few moments before rushing out to catch up with Itachi.

 

“WHAT!?”

 

“Dear, you sound flustered. I didn’t think that was possible for somebody in your-“

 

“I don’t fucking care right now, Itachi. I’ve known you since you were making bubbles out of your mouth and only now your family decides to give a shit? I’m very grateful for the consideration, but to be honest I have no clue how the hell to teach anybody the way you want me to.”

 

Itachi stopped, turned around, and completely leveled her with a glare so intense the hairs on her face seemed to recede back into her face. “Exactly. You have no clue how you’re going to teach someone to be a leader. You won’t teach him to be a leader, you will; however, learn everything you can about what has happened to him recently and report it to me and me alone. If I hear you have compromised my trust in you, I will not hesitate to order your tongue delivered to my doorstep in a glass box. Clear?”

 

He didn’t threaten her, although she knew he wasn’t lying. She was used to being threatened by assholes, but unlike the others this threat made no sense. “What is it you want from me; information on your own brother? That makes no sense, you realize it makes no sense correct?”

 

“I need someone with extensive training in psychiatry to help my brother heal from whatever trauma he has been dealt. From this moment forward, including the conversation we just had, I own your mouth. If your lips say something I didn’t authorize, I’ll strip them from you. I need you to understand this.”

 

Tsunade stared confused for a moment, dazedly saying “I understand.” Itachi continued walking and Tsunade pulled him into a checkup room. “I understand that any and all communications between us are choice information. Why does Sasuke need psychiatric help?”

 

Itachi was already dark, his eyes completely distant. “He’s been hurt. I only need confirmation right now. This is what you’ll give me, but your conclusion cannot have my bias.”

 

“Who hurt him?”

 

“My parents, I think.”


	2. Answer

Tsunade took a seat and let a few moments float by; Itachi patiently waited for her to acclimate herself.

 

“Say no more,” She said, rubbing her eyes, “Can I get his medical history?”

 

“No.”

 

“Nothing?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“That’s helpful.”

 

“No, it isn’t; and I apologize for the inconvenience. I came to you because nobody else has the capability to complete this task.”

 

“And your parents aren’t … privy to any of this?”

 

“Oh, they are.” Itachi grinned widely. “As you say, you’ve known me since I was very young. I’ve also had the strategic advantage of knowing you. My father, being fickle as he is, isn’t looking into this. He trusts my recommendation and your reputation alone. In truth, I think he’s slowly giving up on my little brother; but not before possibly destroying his person.”

 

“Say no more.”

 

“Good. You have two days.”

 

* * *

 

A young, slender man walked into Haruno Pharmaceuticals on a Tuesday morning at 10:00 sharp. He was met by an assistant who led him into an operating chamber where Tsunade was overseeing a mess of machines and people all surrounding a single body, this single body being operated on by two very sweaty and focused individuals. She would occasionally call out jargon, which the two doctors would respond to succinctly. They seemed to be constantly running out of time, rolling through a wave of tools so great in number the young man couldn’t have possibly named them all or remotely understood their functions. After twenty minutes of this, Tsunade looked at her watch and then looked around and met the young man’s eyes. She guided him out of the room and down a hallway. “Sucks to be those two, I’ll tell you what.”

 

They continued walking until they found a bench up against a wall. A smattering of people would walk by and look hesitantly at the two, many bowing before moving on.

 

“That was a lung transplant. The man is old and has some serious clots we’ve been mincing up for years. God can only try, can’t he? You might be interested to know that one of the doctors was Sakura Haruno. She’s got to be about the best we’ve got.” Tsunade looked over and saw Sasuke looking across the hall at nothing. She could see he wasn’t really taking in any of the information she’d just given.

 

“I got this for you.” She handed him a notepad. “We need to talk, so talk.” About ten seconds later Sasuke slid the notepad back over to her, blank. She sighed and stood up, taking Sasuke to her office and leaving him to his devices while she compiled some notes. After a little while monotonously doing this, she realized something. She picked up her phone and frantically dialed. “Jiraiya, get over here now!”

 

_“Why?”_

“I’ve got a clamoring for your dick, asshole. Come down here and rub that throbbing junk in-between my breasts as fast as you want.”

 

Fifteen minutes later, an old jolly-looking man waltzed in looking tired and plopped down on the couch next to Sasuke, completely ignoring his personal space. He had on the wildest Hawaiian shirt with a vest and cargo shorts and sandals in the middle of November. “Do you know if there’s a really good ramen shop around here?” Jiraiya said, scratching his chest and staring out the window.

 

“Why?”

 

“I’ve got a hankering for it.”

 

“Let’s get out of here, then.”

 

After a half hour the three of them arrived at a small noodle joint, Jiraiya had spent most his time talking on the phone with somebody who was screaming on the other end of the line at him, obviously mad.

 

“Listen, chump. I don’t give two shits if they dock my pay. You’re the one who signed up to be my apprentice, now fuck off ‘n find a real job.”

 

There was something sounding suspiciously like a growl over the line. The noises this person was making didn’t really constitute real conversation but somehow the man was deciphering the screeching quite well. Sasuke was rather amused.

 

“Kid, what do you want? Write it down for me.”

 

Sasuke shook his head and Tsunade called over the bar for a large bowl of ‘something spicy’. Sasuke glared at her and she in turn stuck her tongue out at him.

 

“No, I’m not going to release my next novel until it’s done. No, you aren’t going to finish it for me like last time. Congrats, you found a way for the guy and the girl to fuck into the sunset. You obviously have no idea what my writing is about or what I’m trying to do- what? Where, I’m at someplace called Koretsu. No, don’t you dare. I will fire you, hello?”

 

“So we’re expecting company, hm?”

 

“Ay, chef! Heads up, the Uzumaki kid is coming down here.”

 

Sasuke saw every single chef behind the counter stop what they were doing and look over in horror. In the silence, one could here a pan falling in the back kitchen and someone cussing. Suddenly, the gruff older chef called out to the rest of his staff. “Alright, it’s go time everybody. Prep three extra portions of everything we have! Tell Jiro and Kazu their breaks are over.”

 

Suddenly, the whole mood of the restaurant seemed to shift and the whole staff was yelling at each other and moving at a lightning pace. It made Sasuke’s senses wary, and nothing ended that when suddenly a tall guy rampaged through the door, screaming at the top of his lungs. “YOU DIMPLE-ASSED FUCK, IF YOU DON’T MEET THE DEADLINE WE BOTH LOSE OUR JOBS!”

 

The grizzled head chef greeted with a half wave, to which the young man pointed over at him and smiled. “You know what I like, Jiji! Make that magic happen!”

 

“They ain’t gonna fire nobody, dumbass. They’re going to wait like they always do.” Jiraiya didn’t even stop nibbling on his bread to say it.

 

“You’re famous – OK. That doesn’t mean you should abuse the privilege of having management’s leeway. You just don’t like that Mimi and Akashi have to break up at the end.”

 

“Naruto! You know we don’t talk about the story in public!”

 

The man sat down at the table. He gave off this light that made it seem as though you were talking to someone truly remarkable. His incredible tan and his solid build told of many stories and adventures. He was wise and thoughtful, meticulous and caring. For all his brashness and obnoxiousness, there was a strong undercurrent of so many things floating along the surface of his eyes too quickly to notice, a life too long to explain. The result was someone completely honest and stripped almost entirely of his vices. It frightened Sasuke.

 

“I honestly don’t give a shit. We have to revise everything tonight. Fuck that, you’re too slow which means I’M going to have to stay up all fucking night revising your smutty shit because that’s my job. Well fuck you and your righteous quest for some backwards idealistic ending. Mimi’s still fucked up because of what her father and boyfriend said to her and Akashi is still dealing with his desire to fulfill his dreams of becoming a boxing champion. They can’t live together if they can’t talk to each other, and they’re too split in their motives to recognize that they can help each other better than they can help themselves. Their friends and family are screaming at them both to rely on the advise of others instead of bottling up their wishes and not communicating but they both are experiencing the same impasse of pride. That doesn’t end in a day. Pride takes time to dismantle itself. Fuck, Jiraiya, save the anthro scene for the next installment – there’s enough time for everything.” Naruto turned over and looked directly at Sasuke, smiling big and wide and holding out his hand. “Hey, I’m Naruto. Pleasure.”

 

“He doesn’t speak, numbnutts.” Tsunade intervened.

 

“That’s not altogether terrible.” Naruto shrugged and supped into his miso.

 

“T-there’s going to be an anthro scene?” One of the younger chefs was handing something off to Sasuke and it seemed had been eavesdropping. Jiraiya, who’d been silently eating his way past Naruto’s lecture glared at the man and pulled him down by the collar. “You’ll tell not a single soul what you have heard today.”

 

“A-Absolutely not, sir!” He bowed quickly, smacking his head into the counter. Naruto choked on his soup and the adults and everybody else, Sasuke included, rolled their eyes. Jiraiya kept his eyes down and despondently peeled his bread. “Fine, I’ll keep the ending.”

 

“You won’t add shit.”

 

“I won’t expand further on this difficult situation for the both of them and let the reader decide why things ended this way.”

 

The blonde dude nodded, sighed, and turned back to Sasuke. “I met a woman in Kozaan who had made a religious commitment not to speak because her daughter had been killed by extremists. She said she wouldn’t speak until revenge had been given to her family.” Sasuke looked over at him incredulously, and Naruto gave a completely self-assured smile. “Believe it, dude! She had eighteen bags under her eyes and a cane that doubled as a sword so she could stab the sucker herself.” He made a stabbing motion and picked up his phone to check it briefly. “You know, that elderly prick sitting next to you just gave me fourteen hours to edit a 700-page novel about a boxer and a Lolita making out.

 

Jiraiya smacked the table and looked over at Naruto pleadingly, like a genius confiding in his wife. “What if we had just one scene where Jozu and Mimi are sitting in a bar-“

 

“FUCK OFF JIRAIYA. It’s perfect and you will write not a WORD more.”

 

The old man slinked back into his chair and Naruto was continuing to talk to him even before Sasuke had turned his attention back to him. “So I’m actually an assistant editor for Kyabe Publishing, but I sucked at that so they made me an apprentice to one of the publisher’s ‘most valuable assets’. God help me if I ever find a way out of this wormhole mess of his. Anyway, sorry I’m complaining but I figure I have a good listener so I can finally vent. Do you want to talk at all? My lips might wiggle and a lot of words come out but I’d love to hear about you too!”

 

Sasuke pushed a slip of over to the young man and he looked excitedly at the little scribble on the edge.

 

_Stop talking to me._


	3. Art Block

 

 

“Well I guess I’m thinking in terms of a romance, but if what she wants to write is more drama or horror-romance, then the whole structure has to change. All the beats are weird, like why does Mondo come to the store every day and confess his love just to get hit over the head if this is meant not to be comedic?”

Naruto was yammering on the phone and the two old geezers were muttering amongst themselves, leaving Sasuke in blessed solitude, if only for brief moments inbetween their pointless interrogations.

When Naruto finally got off the phone, he just started chattering to Jiraya. Tsunade would interject and have her own say, but she’d largely stay silent as the boy spoke. Sasuke found this strange, seeing how she’d been very loud and outspoken when the two of them had been alone earlier.

Either way, nobody was making attempts to talk to Sasuke, which he greatly enjoyed. More than anything, he hated small talk – and the idea of having to write things down just to make boring, inconsequential non-conversation just didn’t make any fucking sense. He found that over the course of their walk back to the medical center that Naruto posed an advantage to his purposes. When he was around, he acted as a vacuum of attention so that in the ensuing void of solitude, Sasuke might be able to forget that his family was using him like a rag-doll.

“Uuuu, we should go to the gallery!” Naruto exclaimed suddenly, and then gasped, “SAI! Oh my GOD we could go see Sai’s new stuff!”

 

“Naruto, I’m a little busy right now.” Tsunade sounded like she was reprimanding him, and yet there was no real sting to it.

 

“Well fine then, you go pioneer life-saving medicines while we go look at a bunch of thinly veiled smut.” He actually _giggled_.

 

Jiraya and Tsunade shared a momentary look before the old man turned to Naruto and said, “Actually, kid, you should take that Uchiha over there with you and go without me – Tsunade and I need to talk. Meet us back at the center.”

The two boys gave nearly identical looks of mortification, to which the elders burst out into hysterics and began walking off without another word, Naruto screaming obscenities at them. “Those absolute sacks of shit.”

After a moment of palpable discomfort, the two of them walked on. “Sorry dude, I guess we’ll have to talk, huh? Listen, I know you’re not big on talking but that’s totally ok! I can talk for the both of us and you can relax! You’ll like where we’re going, I kinda take you for a creative type, amiright?” He laughed.

 

* * *

 

 

“So?”

 

Jiraya and Tsunade were back in her office in the same places they were before, Jiraya looking out the window and Tsunade doing some cleaning of the mass of papers all over her desk. Jiraya turned to her with a quirked eyebrow.

 

“So what? You mean the Uchiha?”

 

When she didn’t give any indication of a response, he sighed and looked out again. “I’m more worried by what I don’t know, sis. And I’m afraid they’ll drag you into something bigger than both of us.”

Tsunade huffed and smacked her hands on the desk. “All I’ve ever wanted was to cure all those stupid fucking diseases that plague the human body, is that really too much to ask? Even just one big break, one formula that my bosses will like so we’ll never have to talk again; I fucking hate swindling people.” She paused and then leveled Jiraya with a stare. “I don’t have enough time to do what they’ve tasked me with. I need your help.”

 

“Uh huh?”

 

“I need the Uchiha medical files, well not all of them, just Sasuke’s.”

 

There was silence for a moment. Jiraya had this bug-eyed look that told Tsunade that she was probably asking even more of her friend then even she knew. “I’m not that guy anymore, sis. Maybe when I had all the connections, but not anymore.”

 

“I know you have somebody, please Jiraya. I just had the future head of the fucking Uchiha clan busting down my door and trusting me to find this information. I don’t know how else to do it.”

 

“Well what specifically did he ask you?”

 

“What? Well, he gave me two days to find out if something had happened to Sasuke, some kind of abuse.”

 

Jiraya got up and took some slow, quiet paces around the room. After a minute, he looked up at her and smiled.

“Well, I might not be able to tell you, but I know who can.”

  

* * *

  

The two boys walked into a very open, dynamic building full of color and works of all different genre and scope, mediums ranging from sculpture to painting and some rooms that looked like they had sound-oriented exhibits.

 A woman ran forward from the front desk and greeted Naruto with an enthusiastic hug. They both laughed and Naruto introduced them.

“Ino, this is Sasuke, he doesn’t like to chat but I told him I’d take care of that part.”

Ino laughed and rolled her eyes. “You’d do that regardless, but hey, at least you’ve got a pretty little armpiece, eh?”

Naruto flushed deeply and smacked at her playfully. Ino laughed heartily and asked about the ‘old man’, which Sasuke guessed was Jiraya, to which Naruto scoffed.

“He’s off with Tsunade probably talking shit about me.”

 

“Well come on then, Sai will be positively elated that you’re here.”

 

Sai’s studio was in the far back of the art center. It was a small office space with a couple of windows. The walls were painted orange, and pallets practically covered the vast majority of the lateral space. Some were used, others were completely blank. In the middle of the room was an easel and various paints and tools. Other than that, the room was completely baron of anything besides Sai.

The man himself was, well, as eccentric as his room. He was wearing a crop-top, glasses, and biking shorts. There was very little left to the imagination. Sasuke thought the man was probably extremely attractive to somebody, but certainly not him. When they entered, Sai looked up with a very angry expression that immediately softened into something hauntingly neutral.

 

“Hello. Come in, please.”

 

Naruto strode over to Sai and embraced him without delay. Sai, whose torso was covered in splatters of paint, chuckled and embraced him in return, careful not to touch Naruto with his messy hands. Naruto puled back and looked at the palette Sai was working on. “ugh, you romanticist. You always go straight to luminism after a good fuck, don’t you?”

 “Well I can choose to indulge every once in a while, when inspired.” Sai said and Naruto cackled in return. Naruto’s wild outrageous laughter seemed to draw laughs from both Ino and Sai, and Sasuke felt that pull as well. Every laugh of Naruto’s was different it seemed, each one having only a similar sense of absolute abandon to signify that the same person was laughing each time. Sasuke found it strange.

 

The three artists were chattering for a while, and soon they eloped downstairs to a room that was otherwise roped off. Inside was complete darkness other than the wide photo prints on the wall … and they were all of naked men; very, very naked men. From what Sasuke could tell, it was two or three models used across all the photos. They bent, contorted, stretched, relaxed, and even leapt over otherwise mundane and everyday objects. Sasuke didn’t have time to analyze them closely, because he immediately started to feel queasy. He tried to hold it together for a minute, but found his mind flashing to images of bones snapping and hands digging around in peoples’ stomachs. He knew he’d probably end up vomiting in a few moments, so he immediately searched for a trash can – there were none.

The voices he’d been hearing blurred, and all that was left was a vague impression of Naruto’s boisterous tone.

They continued to chatter on while he struggled with tidal-waves of pain that seemed to roll through him and jostle certain points in his body. It was like somebody had run spikes through him and the hum inside him resonated with those spikes. One was in his right side, running from front to back. The other was in his neck, one in his arm, making it completely numb, and one was in his throat – that one was the worst.

It felt like somebody had opened his throat and pulled his windpipe out and was tugging on it, trying to yank it out. He could feel it pulling all the way through his digestive tract, and it _fucking hurt_. He wasn’t even fully comprehending the diverse web of synapses firing off in his brain all at once.

 

Then suddenly, as though his brain had overheated, he passed out.

 

* * *

 

 

Sasuke woke up looking at a white ceiling with a long, incandescent light. Light was coming in from a window beyond where his head was laying. He shifted slightly, grumbling and feeling lead in his stomach, pining him to the couch.

 

“Hey-hey, don’t worry there, dude. You’re good.”

 

Naruto

After a few moments, he felt a warm hand on his head. “Sasuke?”

He grunted in response.

 

“Shit, hold on.”

 

As Sasuke started to feel his stomach curling again, he focused on the sound of what was presumably Naruto scrambling to find something. Moments later, he felt his arm being held down and Naruto was trying to calm him. “It’s ok, Sasuke, Itachi’s coming. Your brother’s going to come pick you up, ok? Just relax, everything’s completely cool.”

Sasuke suddenly felt a needle in the arm Naruto was holding down, but it was strange, like the needle had always been there. He had instant flashes of needles all over his arm, in his throat, in his leg, even in his dick. He wanted to vomit, but more than that, he really, really wanted to shed his skin. It felt like if he just clawed off all his skin, the tingling and the humming, searing numbness would finally be gone.

He felt a smooth hand running through his hair and a calm voice telling him everything was going to be ok. Sometimes it was Naruto, other times he couldn’t tell who it was. He liked the hand though, really liked it. That, more than anything, was the warm blanket in the icy wasteland that was his body right now.

It felt like forever before his body finally cooled down, he felt like if that hand had stayed there the process would have been a lot quicker. He didn’t care about appearances at that moment – all he wanted was that nice, big hand raking through his scalp, even just once more. God, he felt like a dog. He was finally able to open his eyes and with stunning and sudden clarity, the room and all the noises around him were vivid and clear as always.

“Hey there, sleepycat.” Said Naruto. Sasuke turned and found him in a chair right above where his head was on the armrest of the couch in Tsunade’s office. Outside, he suddenly noticed there was yelling. Sasuke ground out “What … happen.”

 

“Something went wrong, we don’t know what. You had what we can only guess was a seizure or something. It sure as fuck wasn’t food poisoning.”

 

Sasuke grumbled and turned into the cushions on the couch, trying to block out the world and to a certain degree, avoid his own embarrassment. Three people had watched him go into shock and probably vomit on himself. He heard Naruto chuckle.

“I mean it is post-modern reactionary photography, but I don’t think Sai wanted it to be _that_ reactionary. Or maybe he did, that guy’s a fucking madman.”

 

Sasuke heard the door open. He didn’t turn, but he suddenly felt a warm, familiar hand on his back. Itachi. “Come brother, let’s get you home and to bed.”

Sasuke felt strong arms moving under him and suddenly, Itachi was carrying him for the first time in forever. He tucked his head into Itachi’s neck and breathed out a sigh. In that moment, he felt an overwhelming calm he hadn’t felt since that time he was in the pool with his brother when he was very young. He thought back to how peaceful that was, how his brother was dunking him and having noddle fights with him. He smiled as he remembered.

 

* * *

 

 

Sasuke and Itachi had left and Naruto was left with Tsunade. Despite the massive shitstorm that had just occurred, the image of Itachi carrying his little brother with obvious fondness and the younger responding lovingly to the touch was absolutely adorable – he couldn’t help the smile that split his face at the image.

So Sasuke Uchiha had collapsed in the middle of an art gallery and experienced a post-traumatic episode. Heads were about to roll big time, and he could tell that Tsunade was fully aware of that fact. Consummate tactician that she was, she kept a very collected demeanor about her as she commanded Naruto to sit.

 

“What happened, Naruto.”

 

Ino had seen it first. Naruto remembered turning to her mid-snark and stopped when he saw her wearing a look of growing confusion and concern. When he looked over and saw Sasuke heaving, he ran over and automatically went through his EMT routine. His pulse was quick, he wasn’t breathing properly, his temperature was high, he was sweating, seizing, and was completely unresponsive. He was letting out a croaking, gagging sound that Naruto felt was a crime against god – for someone so beautiful to be experiencing such indescribable pain must be a damnable sin. Finally, mercifully, the kid had passed out. Tsunade was already just about there with some real EMTs and Naruto had preemptively relayed his initial findings.

Tsuande now sat with her hand covering her eyes. When Naruto was finished, she sat for a minute, processing the information.

 

“It wasn’t a seizure.” Tsunade sounded resolute in that diagnosis.

 

“No, it wasn’t. Whatever happened was more than likely a shock response, the result of immense trauma.”

 

“But there were no triggers.”

 

“Well…no.” Naruto disagreed. “There was a trigger, but if I’m right then something seriously fucked up is going on here.”

 

Tsunade looked up at him and stare for a moment, not angry or confused but very, very intense. “Well?”

“His reaction is consistent with a prisoner of war. The paintings on the wall showed naked men contorting themselves, sometimes painfully. His reaction was most likely a response to those images and the result of previous trauma inflicted intentionally and over the course of a long period of time, possibly meant to specifically target such types of images.”

 

“Holy mother of fuck.”

 

Naruto said nothing. Tsunade got up and repeated her obscenity, pacing around the room and repeating it again.

She turned to Naruto. “You’re positive?”

Naruto nodded. “Where’s the old man?”

“Out getting a drink.” Tsunade said off-handedly, moving back towards her desk, clenching and unclenching her fists before finally slamming one into the desk, cracking the whole thing in two.

 

* * *

 

“’Tachi!, wassup!”

 

It was late at night in the boxing school Kisame co-owned when he’d gotten the text from Itachi to reserve time for him. It’d been a long time, but of course, Kisame understood how busy a job the heir to Uchiha Holdings was. Itachi was dressed in his usual tailored suit.

 

“Where are my gloves.”

 

“Up on the ring.” Kisame pointed over to the other corner, realizing that with Itachi’s current mood, he wouldn’t be able to properly prepare by the time Itachi was on him. Suigetsu quickly tied Kisame’s gloves on and then ran over to Itachi to fix him up. In about a minute, Suigetsu was setting the fight. Immediately, Itachi was on him, jabbing every spot on Kisame’s arms. Kisame would land a couple blows here and there but generally Itachi was too fast. Kisame could feel the intensity of Itachi’s wrath like he’d never seen, expressions flitting over his pretty un-punchable face like he’d never seen. Kisame only had to look over for a moment to signal Suigetsu to leave, but he honestly wouldn’t risk what Itachi would manage to do to him in that time.

 

“Sugi, get out.”

 

He wasted no more of his focus, watching Itachi’s eyes on his for minutes and minutes, waiting for Itachi to stop aggressing or even simply slow down, but that didn’t happen. Finally, Kisame was able to land a jab to Itachi’s ribs and the man stepped back, giving him a half-second window to put his fist a centimeter from Itachi’s face.

 

“It’s Sasuke, right?”

 

“This isn’t working.” Itachi said after another minute sof laying into Kisame mercilessly and stepped out of the ring and found the nearest solid bag to lay into, seemingly continuing what he was doing with Kisame but with greater consistency. Itachi hadn’t really been on the defensive before because he knew Kisame wasn’t fighting seriously. Of course Kisame wasn’t going to leave visible signs of violence on the Uchiha. Maybe a few years ago when Itachi was still relatively out of the news, but not now.

“He got hurt, I heard in the news.” Kisame ventured, hoping to find a window to peer into his friend’s mind and see what the fuck was wrong.

Itachi snorted a little but gave nothing else away, laying three rather frightening punches where his Kisame’s face might have been.

 

“So who’re you fighting this time?”

 

“My family.”

 

Kisame stepped back a little and found a stool to rest on, watching Itachi for another minute before saying anything. Itachi seemed to be losing his anger a little. When Kisame did say something, it was more of a grunt than anything. He’d known about Sasuke’s issues with the family through his connections from before, back when he worked as Itachi’s bodyguard. In that long time, he’d also become Itachi’s friend. Well, there were a couple times where it was a little more than that, but Kisame, as usual, would take these things to his grave.

In all the time they’d known each other, one thing had become clear. If Sasuke was having problems, they were reflected in his brother. He went closer to Itachi and lowered his voice, as though somebody might be listening. For all he knew, they were.

 

“This might be the first time I’ve seen you ‘not angry enough’, son. What’d they do?”

Itachi stepped back and almost collapsed onto the floor, his arms laying against the floor like noodles and his shirt five shades darker.

 

“I don’t know.” Kisame said, crouching down and giving his friend water.

 

“Want me to find out?”

“Yes.”

“The article said Sasuke’s having throat problems so he can’t speak, is that true?”

“Yes.”

“Is the medical report with your family?”

“I haven’t seen it. Father’s keeping it to himself.”

 

“Hm.”

 

“Exactly.” Itachi hoisted himself up and went over to lean on the corner-pole of the ring and leveled Kisame with his most imposing stare.

“I need you to use all of your connections on this – price is no object here. I need to know what the Academy is covering up, where Sasuke was and what actually happened. I need names in the family, and I need something signed or sanctioned by every family-member involved tying them to it.”

 

“Is that all?”

“You said to me once that you always have a plan to kill every one of your clients – does such a plan exist for all the members of my family?”

“You know I can’t tell you that.”

“Good. Make sure it’s solid.”

 

“You’re not serious?”

 

Itachi looked up at Kisame for a few moments before tearing his gloves off and then came close again.

“My baby brother went to the ER today because of a sudden and violent traumatic episode. Whoever did this, wherever they are, I will rip the life from them, and you’re going to help me do it.”

 

“What makes you think it was one of your own?”

 

Itachi didn’t respond, he just walked out and left Kisame alone.

 

 

\---

 

AUTHOR NOTE: Hey guys, I've got the next chapter in the works right now. It's difficult because I'm honestly not even sure where this story's going - I'm just letting these characters 'flow' and whatever happens happens. Having attention deficit and trying to write novels is a real trip. Stay tuned!


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